UKC

Hi there, just wondering if anyone knows if there is climbing on the greek island of Paxos? Pictures make it look as if there could be some amazing DWS?
Tnx
http://www.boatbookings.com/yachting_content/ionian_corfu_charter_itinerary...

In reply to cayteye:

Hi there.

I've had a boat trip along under these cliffs, they are complex and in places huge - I'm almost certain that there could be quite a lot of DWS there. This is the exposed side of the island however, so quite susceptible to swells. I'm pretty sure Iain Peters has done some climbing there, so hopefully he'll notice your post.

Either way, Paxos is a really really beautiful island and worth a visit, climbing or otherwise.

In reply to cayteye:

Tom's right: there is huge potential for both DWS and trad sea cliff climbing throughout the Ionian Islands, Paxos included, but you do need water transport. I did a fair amount of DWS across the region when living on Ithaca for 6 years, and have been to the small uninhabited island of Oxxia on a couple of occasions with different teams. On the latter there are now half a dozen routes up to 150m and E3 but probably scope for a couple of hundred more at least. Elsewhere perhaps 30 to 40 so far, but most requiring approach from the sea. The west coast of Meganisi opposite Lefkada, like Paxos is very impressive, with just one DWS traverse at 6c and a HVS.

Cheapest way to explore is obviously by kayak, but a bareboat yacht charter isn't too expensive out of high season and does mean one can cover a wider area. Last time we went with 6 with 2 staying on board on anchor watch.

In reply to Iain Peters:

Hi Iain

How much did the yacht cost just out of interest? Not knowing anything about sailing does "bareboat" mean you have to sail it yourself?

Ta

In reply to Matt Vigg:

Yeah, bareboat means you sail it yourself. It's the same deal as car hire, but you do have to have at least one person on board with relevant sailing qualifications.
IIRC, last time we went in 2011 the cost pp for flight and share of charter was about £600 for the fortnight and there were 6 of us on a 38ft boat. Food and fuel not included. A number of resorts offer weekly sea kayak hire, Vassiliki on Lefkada is one that I know of.

If you're limited to being land-based there's great potential for bouldering on Kefalonia about 5kms from Sami on the road to Poros up on the left. DWS north of Fiskardo along the coast footpath and near Afales on the Lixouri Peninsula. Paliokastritsa on Corfu is a picturesque resort with extensive crags on each side of the bay and the west coast of Lefkada is impressive.

In reply to Matt Vigg: You can get a motor boat on Paxos for about £30 plus fuel a day. Maybe cheaper if you are booking for a few days. The cliffs are indeed impressive, some of the caves would have great potential for steep dws. Just have to be careful not to fall on any of the tour boats which negotiate their way into the caves and under arches.

Cheers for the info, in return I was on Samothraki recently and found a pretty cool bouldering cave and a bit of DWS, plus almost certainly the potential for more. Cave is right in the centre of this (basically at the end of the road and then at the far end of the beach):

http://goo.gl/maps/lScRD

DWS is further along the same bit of coastline, short overhanging sections with scrambling/walking in between. One day I'd like to go back and do some coastering all around the south of the island.

In reply to stella1:

Most of the motor boat hire companies have very restricted areas that you can go to, for safety reasons. They also give you a full tank of petrol and a mobile, and you would need more than a tank of juice to get round from Gaios or Loggia to the w coast of Paxos and back. Mooring the boat whilst climbing would present a problem as sea conditions on the west coasts facing the open Adriatic can be quite rough. We usually anchor off and then kayak/swim into the crags.